Page 53 of The Beat Match

Weston felt a growl rumble in his gut. He glanced at Annie again. She was smiling and laughing with Duncan, happy with a careless player, probably to piss him off.

“You encouraged this,” he said, the muscles in his neck straining. “So you need to help me fix it.”

Rosanna passed him back the phone and patted his hand. “It’s simple. You hurt her and didn’t apologize.”

“I told her I lied.”

“Does that sound like a groveling apology to you?”

He reread his message, his heart sinking with each word. “Shit.”

“However you feel now, she’s been feeling ten times worse the past week. Not only do you owe her a heartfelt apology, but you owe her some control. That’s what she’s reclaiming right now.”

Wes took a swallow of his wine, had to force it past the regret lodged in his throat. He’d hurt Annie. Badly. He’d hurt himself in the process, but he’d understood the why of it. He’d had the comfort of her truth with him, the feelings she’d admitted. He’d known he could fix things if he’d wanted to. All she’d had was his rejection and silence. “What if you’re wrong and I only hurt her more?”

“Again, are you this dense in your business meetings? If you are, I should counsel my father to kibosh this merger.”

“Dating a woman isn’t a business meeting.” Rosanna raised a dark eyebrow and gestured between them. Point taken. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, but if you backed down from every ‘what-if’ in business, you’d be peddling knock-off purses on the street corner. You’re a risk taker, Weston. That’s why Aldrich Pharma is the behemoth it is. That’s why my father wants to be under your umbrella. Annie isn’t a merger in those terms, but she’s a risk. If your desire for the end result outweighs your fear of failure, it’s a risk worth taking. So that’s your question: how badly do you want her?”

He’d missed Annie hovering at his back in his studio this week, making up ridiculous stories about Felix. He couldn’t close his eyes without seeing the shocked devastation on her face when he’d left her apartment. He couldn’t blink without reliving their kiss. He wanted her badly, regardless of the risk. And Leo had asked him to protect Annie, make sure she was happy. Maybe being with her was the answer to everything. Together, she’d always be safe. He’d be the best version of himself.

If she could forgive him for her brother’s death.

He sure as shit wanted to be the one sitting across from her now, making her laugh, holding her hand, whispering how gorgeous she looked in that dress.

He ran his thumb over his phone’s screen, thought of the best way to grovel. He settled on following Rosanna’s advice again.

Weston: I’m sorry. I won’t come over. It’s up to you how this moves forward. I’ll be up at home if you want to stop by later.

He hit Send and watched Annie. She glanced at her purse but continued talking to Duncan. She kept looking at her purse intermittently, never reaching inside. Sweat gathered at the back of Weston’s shirt, and he felt like punching something. Himself, mainly. When she finally pulled out her phone and read his message, the smallest smile lifted her lips.

His forehead nearly hit the table in relief.

“I told you I give the best advice,” Rosanna said.

He massaged his chest and faced her, still surprised by their growing friendship. “For a woman who hates relationships, your female intel isn’t half bad.”

“For a stuck-up suit, you’re a real softy.”

He wasn’t sure about that. He wasn’t sure he was ready to open himself up to Annie, but he knew he’d pull an all-nighter on his couch, watching his front door for a sign that the most important person in his life was willing to trust him again.

OceanofPDF.com

16

Annie paced in front of Wes’s front door, her movements stiff and jerky. She was freaking out, unable to knock on his door or use her key to sneak in.

Since tonight’s dinner, she’d reread his messages twenty-one times. Not twenty or twenty-two. Exactly twenty-one times to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood his intentions. She read them again now. Time twenty-two. Just to be sure.

I lied at your apartment. You’re all I think about. Get rid of Duncan as early as possible. I’m coming over to your place tonight.

I’m sorry. I won’t come over. It’s up to you how this moves forward. I’ll be up at home if you want to stop by later.

Why couldn’t she knock on his stupid door?

Drawing dinner out while waiting for Wes and Rosanna to leave first had been a challenge. Not because Duncan had been a bore. They’d had fun in the end, as she’d expected, and he’d been cool with them parting ways from the restaurant. Not before he’d said, “FYI: friends with benefits are more fun than battery operated toys,” which had made her laugh.